


by fire

by noyabeans (snowdrops)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Final Haikyuu Quest, Gen, Interlude, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 15:46:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17645702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/pseuds/noyabeans
Summary: Shouyou and Kenma share a moment, the night before they arrive at the castle.Shouyou takes it all in. He doesn’t mind this, not after a long day on the road beating their way through thick foliage and rough terrain, a dull ache in his muscles and a warm dinner in his stomach.





	by fire

The fire is burning low, so Shouyou throws the last of the dry timber on it. Wind is nipping at his exposed ankles, but his thick travelling cloak spares him from most of it. Pulling it closer around himself, he leans to his left, resting his weight against Kenma’s shoulder.

Kenma stiffens a little where he’s reading a manuscript by way of a floating light orb, but Shouyou feels him ease up a moment later. 

“We’ll reach the castle tomorrow,” he says to the flickering flames. Kenma is warm and solid where their bodies touch, a familiar and comforting presence out here in the middle of a forest in nigh pitch darkness. 

“Mm,” Kenma says. 

Shouyou had caught a glimpse of the castle earlier, some time before they’d set up camp for the night. It was on the far side of the forest, tall ivory towers glinting in the amber rays of the setting sun. In that light, it had looked like it was ablaze — majestic and almost brilliant in an illusion of destruction.

They’re quiet after that, the silence punctuated only by the crackle of fire and the crinkle of paper every time Kenma turns a page. In one of the tents, Shouyou can hear the murmuring of Iwaizumi and Kageyama as they discuss strategies for their invasion of the castle tomorrow; in the other, he can see Aone’s silhouette against the light streaming out. He’s writing something, maybe a letter to his friend back home in Date.

Shouyou takes it all in. He doesn’t mind this, not after a long day on the road beating their way through thick foliage and rough terrain, a dull ache in his muscles and a warm dinner in his stomach. This is how contentment must feel like, he thinks. To be out here in the wilderness on an adventure with his friends, and yet to feel right at home all the same.

The wind is blowing more harshly now, and he huddles closer to Kenma. Kenma’s hands, moving to flip a page, pause. Shouyou feels rather than sees Kenma turn, can feel the weight of Kenma’s gaze settle itself on him. Curious. Concerned. 

“Are you cold?” 

“A bit,” Shouyou confesses. “But I don’t want to go in yet.”

“A while more,” Kenma concedes. Shouyou smiles into the rough fabric draped around Kenma’s shoulder. It’s a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. At the start of their journey together Kenma would be the first to retreat into the safety and warmth of the tents despite Shouyou’s pleas, leaving him to bicker and banter with Kageyama outside until Iwaizumi shooed them in to sleep. 

But they’ve been journeying together for almost three months now. Surely that counts for something, if the way he’s half-reading the manuscript in Kenma’s hands while leaning against him is anything to go by. 

Three months is, however, not enough to have changed Shouyou’s general lack of concentration. His lids are starting to feel heavy at the sheer number of words in the text — how does Kenma even _process_ all this information? — when he hears a rustle in the bushes behind Kenma.

Kenma must hear it too, because he tenses again, already readying a spell in his hand while Shouyou fumbles for the dagger hidden under his cloak, cursing his decision to leave his sword in the tent.

Another rustle, now louder. 

Then the intruder appears — in the form of a small animal barely taller than the bushes. It wanders out, utterly nonchalant as it pads towards them. It’s a small cat with light fur. A harmless housecat, as far as Shouyou can tell.

He would relax a little, if not for the fact that something isn’t adding up. A housecat? Out here in the middle of the forest, at this hour? 

The cat, however, pays neither him nor the green glow around Kenma’s summoning hand any heed. It simply meows, then rubs itself against Kenma’s side. 

Kenma doesn’t move. Shouyou forgets to breathe.

Then it meows again, dipping its head to rest against Kenma’s crossed legs, and Kenma finally does.

His hand drops, the paralysing spell dissipating into thin air, and he reaches out for the cat. The cat meows once more, quieter this time, and nuzzles into his palm.

“Shouyou,” Kenma says. “Don’t worry. It’s safe.”

Shouyou stares at him, fingers still tense around the handle of his dagger. He trusts Kenma, but this cat is a potential danger, even if Kenma seems to know it. 

Kenma looks over at him then, eyes aglow in the firelight. Shouyou notes the way his hands have found their way into the cat’s fur, fingers trailing through it with practised ease. The silence pulls long between them, before Kenma speaks at last.

“He’s a… friend.”

There’s a soft edge to the usual sharpness of his voice that Shouyou has never heard before, and his eyes are gentle.

The moment stretches, Shouyou letting the words sink in before making his choice. He lowers his dagger, but doesn’t release his grip. 

That’s enough for Kenma, apparently, because he turns his attention back to the cat.

“Yaku-san.”

The name rolls quickly off Kenma’s lips, but that soft edge from earlier has disappeared. “What did Kuro send?”

 _Kuro_.

The Dark Mage, Shouyou’s mind supplies helpfully. The Grand King’s partner. Kenma’s former partner and travelling companion. They know a lot about the Dark Mage’s strengths and weaknesses thanks to Kenma, but the exact nature of their relationship is still a mystery to Shouyou. Of course he’s wondered, but he’s never dared press Kenma on it.

The cat — Yaku-san — meows, sounding annoyed now. Then it opens its mouth, and Shouyou can just make out a slip of white paper sitting on its tongue. 

A letter at this time? Shouyou frowns. Is the Dark Mage trying to unnerve Kenma on the eve of battle?

Kenma sighs, and reaches into its mouth to fish the paper out, before Shouyou can even warn him that the cat might try to bite. 

Leaning over Kenma’s shoulder, Shouyou watches as he unfolds it. It’s a small note, written in a language that Shouyou has never seen before — scrawled bold characters forming gibberish words. There’s a badly doodled cat drawn in the corner, presumably as a sign-off. 

Kenma skims it quickly, fingers clutching the sides of the paper. _He knows this language_ , Shouyou realises. What language is it even? How does Kenma know it? But most importantly — 

“What does it say?” 

Kenma reads it over once more, then looks at Shouyou. Carefully, he says: “This is a language I invented with Kuro long ago. It says, ‘The stage is set. We’re waiting for the stars of the show.’”

Before Shouyou can say anything, he looks down at the cat, which has now climbed into his lap. Rubbing behind its ears, he murmurs, “Thank you. Make sure he doesn’t get himself killed before we get there.”

The cat hisses, then leaps off his lap. Pawing at Kenma’s leg once more, it slinks back into the bushes it had come from, leaving silence in its wake.

The fire is burning low again. Without anything else to keep it going, Shouyou stares into its dancing flames, wishing to find words in them to say.

There’s another sigh from Kenma, before he folds the paper back up. Shouyou half-expects him to pocket it, but instead his fingers run along the edges, on the creases of the folds. Shouyou glances at him; he looks thoughtful, determined even, as though he’s just made up his mind about something. Not sad or worried, like Shouyou had feared.

Then Kenma tosses it into the fire. Shouyou watches as one of the edges takes, and the paper crumbles into ash. 

“Is that really okay?” he asks at last.

The question hangs in the air for a long while, and Shouyou is beginning to regret saying anything when Kenma lets out a small breathy laugh.

“Yeah, it is.”

He turns around. Even in the dying light, his eyes are bright as he smiles. 

“Let’s do our best tomorrow, Shouyou.”

Something blooms burning in Shouyou’s chest. There are many questions he wants answered, even more now, but he’ll wait for them in their own time. 

Tomorrow beckons.

**Author's Note:**

> My piece for the [FHQ zine](https://haikyuuquestzine.tumblr.com/) last year!
> 
> Thank you for reading, comments are deeply appreciated!
> 
> [tumblr (rielity)](https://rielity.tumblr.com/) | [twitter (noyabeans)](https://twitter.com/noyabeans) | [haikyuu writing journal](https://noyabeans.dreamwidth.org/)


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